Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis: Civil War General by Bruce V. Sones

Author:Bruce V. Sones [Sones, Bruce V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ACW
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2014-08-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7 — DAVIS’ REMAINING YEARS

After Davis arrived in Chattanooga reorganization took place among the command of the Union forces. As a part of these changes in command Davis found himself moved from command of the First Division of the XXth Corps to the command of the Second Division of the XIVth Corps. Davis was not pleased about this change of command. He had been in command of the First Division and had led them from southern Missouri to Chickamauga and he was “warmly attached to them.”{335} With the assignment to this new division, Davis found himself with three new brigade commanders. These commanders were General James D. Morgan, General John Beatty, and Colonel Dan McCook.

Upon assuming command of the Second Division, which was now located on the Tennessee River in the Sequahachie Valley, Davis received orders from Thomas to move his division to the headwaters of the Tennessee River and back down through the Sequahachie Valley to Chattanooga. Davis took ten days to travel the distance of one hundred and fifty miles to carry out the mission. This mission gave Davis the chance to see how his new division was performing and trained and it also gave him a chance to see terrain that he would possibly have to maneuver his division through in the future.{336}

By the middle of October of 1863 Davis had made it back to Chattanooga from his mission up to the headwaters of the Tennessee River and he had his division set up camp along the bank of the Tennessee River. Soon after, towards the end of November, General Sherman arrived in Chattanooga from Memphis to reinforce the Union forces. Davis was attached to and placed under the command of Sherman. Davis would find himself under the command of Sherman for the remainder of the war. Upon reporting to Sherman, Davis’ division was concentrated on the west bank of the Tennessee River near the mouth of the Northern Chickamauga Creek and was on the far right side of Sherman’s forces.{337} The stage was set for the Union forces to engage the Confederate troops under Bragg besieging Chattanooga.

There were three pieces to the battle of Chattanooga for the Union army. One of these pieces included Sherman’s command attacking across the Tennessee River against the Confederate right on the north end of Missionary Ridge. Davis’ part in this attack was to guard the pontoon bridges that the Union forces had placed across the river to facilitate the attack and to also guard the left flank of the Union forces from any attack by the Confederates.{338} Though this was more of a supporting role for Davis and not really to his liking, he carried out his mission.

During the attack on the confederates Davis’ division did not became decisively engaged. However, as the Confederate forces fled from the field of battle, Davis’ division gave pursuit and in the vicinity of the Chickamauga Station and Shepard’s Run he became heavily engaged with the rearguard of the Confederate forces under the command of Major General Patrick Cleburne.

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